Evolutionary
by slushy527
Summary: Kayla Ashford only joined the Brotherhood in a desperate attempt to be reunited with her pack. But what happens when she finds herself beginning to align her morals with theirs? She guards a valuable secret about herself and her friends, and Arthur Maxson doesn't realize he's falling in love with someone who goes against the very ideals he holds. Slow burner. Kayla/Maxson
1. Initiation

**[Background: There's a new species in Fallout, called the Evolved, which are unknown to the other wastelanders. The Evolved are an elite group of people who at some point in their human life, have randomly 'evolved' into a better version of themselves. This includes specific sets of skills to keep themselves alive, and the ability to change into wolves. They've kept to themselves in their secret home base called Sanctuary ( _not located in the Commonwealth; Sanctuary Hills does not exist in this storyline because the Sole Survivor from Vault 111 doesn't)_ , which is hundreds of miles from the Capital Wasteland and the Commonwealth. Until now. Kayla and her pack have been sent by their superiors to begin cleansing the commonwealth, so that they can provide a better life for humans. Kayla/Maxson]**

 **Chapter 1**

We'd prepared for this for months. For a painstaking amount of time, we'd memorized every inch of what was once Boston and was now in partial ruins; every creature, every insect, every speck of dust was burned into our minds from months of training for this day. As we stood on the hill overlooking the Commonwealth, our minds swiveled, struggling to figure out how we were going to cleanse the city of the filth that riddled it.

Caleb walked up next to me, gently resting his hand on my shoulder. I gave a brief glance back at my pack members and looked over the ruins once more. They silently awaited their first task, and a weight had never felt so heavy on my shoulders. I'd never been in full command before. I'd never had to consider the lives that would be put at risk with every decision. It terrified me.

Caleb smiled gently at me. "Well boss?" he asked jokingly, knowing I hated the nickname. "Where to first?"

* * *

The commonwealth was a pathetic excuse for a place to live. It was disgusting.

It was nothing like where our pack had come from: Sanctuary (no, not _that_ Sanctuary, which does not exist in this). I reminisced about the green trees, the blooming flowers, clear water and skies – none of which I could see as far as the horizon. Although we'd studied and prepared for this, living in it still shocked me.

My pack swiveled around me in wolf form as I struggled to make a decision as to what to do. As I took a step forward, the ground began to shook, and we all tried to brace ourselves.

 _What the fuck is that_? My first thought was a deathclaw, but it was consistent, and a sort of roaring shake. I looked up to the for-once blue sky and saw – well, I wasn't quite sure _what_ I was seeing. A giant metal ship soared through the air, with helicopters of some sort escorting it.

"We are the brotherhood of steel," a loud voice boomed across the city, "there is nothing to fear. We have peaceful intentions". The voice repeated the message as the ship flew over us and continued on into the distance.

My pack started to turn back into human form, shouting in chaos as they did. We had spent all these months learning every detail of the commonwealth, and yet we were left with one question amongst us.

 _Who the hell are the Brotherhood of Steel?_

* * *

The pack continued to shout questions of protest and I rubbed my temples, unsure of how to answer. I was their alpha, and yet I didn't know what to tell them. None of us had been prepared for this. My main concern was for the safety of my pack. As their alpha, it was my job to protect them at all costs, and I worriedly wondered what I should do.

"Shut up," I snarled at the whiny teenagers, and they immediately fell silent. The older pack members stayed in wolf form, trying to create a calming presence. I was only 22, and it felt weird to boss around members older than me, but an alpha is chosen in the natural evolutionary process. If you ask me, they chose the wrong person, because I'm not exactly a fearless leader. I was too impatient and ran my mouth.

"We need to find a place to set up for the night before it gets too late," I said more calmly.

As my beta, Caleb took the lead in getting the younger wolves into line. I didn't want to call him a glorified babysitter but, that's essentially what it was. He could drink a liter of vodka and have a good time, but he fit the paternal figure better than the fighting figure. He only snagged the role of beta because he was my brother, and should I die, ideally my bloodline would take over as alpha. I cringed imagining him trying to last more than one day as an alpha.

We descended the hill into the commonwealth together. It was colder than I'd expected it to be, but I preferred to be in human form. Suddenly my crop top and short shorts seemed like a poor choice in clothing as I saw small mounds of melting snow on the ground. I had my bow and arrows slung criss-cross against my back, and a stolen laser rifle in my trigger-ready hand.

It wasn't long before we found shelter in an old gas station. Mole rats sprang out of the ground like shoe rabbits. Learning and trying to train for them was one thing, but actually killing them was more difficult than I'd expected. They were quick and cunning, but 7 wolves and a laser rifle was very quickly too much for them.

We built up steel barricades along the windows and doors, locking ourselves in, and then set about the task of cleaning up and looking for supplies. We'd brought some of our own, but there was only so much we could carry.

I split off from the rest of the group, knowing that there was a lingering question on all of their minds. I could feel their anxiety seething off of them and it was making me nauseous.

I had no idea who the Brotherhood of Steel was, and without any way to communicate with my superiors, I didn't know how safe our mission here in the Commonwealth actually was. I struggled to relay with the fact that we'd studied this place so intensely, only to be thrown off just minutes after arriving.

I found two old mattresses in the garage part of the building, flinging them onto the floor. Dust flew up everywhere and I coughed in disgust. Sanctuary would never be this gross. Let alone make us sleep on the floor.

Nina came forward with what looked to be canned food, but upon closer inspection was actually dog food. Paul grabbed it and started a search for a can opener with the claim, "well technically we are dogs, right?" I smiled slightly, but then frowned. I needed to get _proper_ food for my pack.

I peered out of a slit in one of the steel-covered windows and realized the food was right in front of us. I walked outside and grimaced, though, as I picked up a mole rat by its tail. The skin pulled and extended the tail and I nearly threw up as I brought it back inside and smacked it on the counter.

I could tell everyone was disgusted by it, but I had a feeling that food wasn't going to come easily in the Commonwealth, judging by the decaying state of things.

Paul looked back and forth between the mole rat and the can of still unopened dog food, and then shrugged. "I saw a barbeque out back," he said. "Maybe we can get that running". Paul and Lex went to retrieve the parts while someone produced a sharp hunting knife and placed it on the counter.

"I'm…Um…I'm going to go help Paul and Lex," Nina hurriedly said and practically tripped on her own legs trying to get out the door.

None of us had ever had to skin our own food before. None of us had ever had to _cook_ our own food before. We'd all been taught, for cases like this, but learning something and actually doing it were too very different things.

At one point when I was human, I assumed I probably knew how to cook. But after I'd evolved 8 years ago, I'd left almost all my human memories behind. We all did. It was a process of evolving none of us understood but were forced to accept.

The four of us that were left in the room made no move towards the dead creature.

As an alpha, I had to make some sort of executive decision. All I knew was I wasn't touching that wrinkly ass thing again. I grabbed the knife in a quick move, and screamed "HOT POTATO", throwing it to Logan.

"Shit!" I heard him shout as he fumbled to grab it and throw it to the next person. The last person in the room to touch the knife would have to skin the mole rat. I dove for the garage, which was separated by a small door, and slammed it closed.

"Kayla, let me in. Please for the love of god, _Kayla,"_ I heard Caleb's cries as he pounded his fist against the door. I laughed as I moved a large metal storage box in front of it, blocking his entrance.

"Not a fucking chance, I ain't skinning shit," I called through the door. It rattled as Caleb literally threw himself against it in a desperate attempt to escape.

The modified game of hot potato was something we would play back at Sanctuary, but the punishment was always something fun. It certainly never occurred to me that one day we'd be in the situation we were in now.

* * *

We found a way to open the roof tiles, so the barbeque had been brought into the safety of the steel walls. We'd blocked all the entrances with steel reinforcement for the night. The heat from the barbeque warmed the entire garage as it slowly roasted the mole rat. A solemn Caleb watched from the corner, his face still tinged with green after committing such a heinous act towards an animal. I wasn't sure how many of the pack actually tried the meat, but I had decided an empty stomach was better than…that.

Even though we were caged in safely like animals, we took shifts sleeping on the only two mattresses. It could've been easily comfortable to sleep as wolves on the concrete, but the little things like this seemed to keep the pack content for now.

It was nearly midnight by the time I was able to lay down on one of the mattresses. My fingers ran across it's rough and dirty surface.

 _People really live like this._ I thought. _I wonder if I lived like this before I evolved._

It wasn't long before sleep stole me away from my thoughts, and I sighed as a comforting blackness overtook my mind.

* * *

I awoke a few hours later at dawn. We typically didn't need much sleep, so I felt at ease getting up and letting Lex catch a few more hours.

I wandered over to the steel-covered door, easily breaking the welded metal so I could get outside. Simply another one of the perks of being evolved was added strength and enhanced senses. It was tiring to use too much energy at once, but little things here and there didn't matter in the bigger picture.

I took in the surroundings, focusing my ears to any movement that would be alarming. The amount of hours we'd spent listening to the sounds the commonwealth creatures made was drilled into our heads. Luckily, I heard nothing but gentle winds and unharmful chatter of birds.

 _Silence is the worst sound you can hear in the Commonwealth,_ I remember being told.

I kept forgetting how damn cold it was. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for more suitable clothes. For now, my raging body temperature of a steady 107 degrees Fahrenheit kept me warm. We were forewarned to avoid medical assistance here in the commonwealth, as our evolved bodies had a tendency to grab attention, and not the good kind.

* * *

Everyone was awake and geared as soon as the first gunshots rang out. We were uphill, so it was difficult to narrow down exactly where they came from below us.

"Raiders?" Lex assumed, throwing his backpack on.

We purposefully all traveled as light as we possible could, which explained all of our poor choices in clothing and accessories. Even Lex's backpack was nearly empty, flush against his back so that it wouldn't get in the way of anything.

The sound of a laser rifle in return had me pinpointing the exact location.

"Could be," I said distantly, honing in on the location. "An attack on civilians sounds like our job description, huh?" I smiled. Fighting was our area of expertise.

I started down the hill in a full out sprint, the others quickly filling in behind me. Heavy thumps let me know that some had phased into their counterparts.

Caleb ran up beside me, smiling, "isn't there a saying, 'don't bring a knife to a gun fight'?"

I laughed and raised my weapon high in the air, "good thing I have a gun". I threw my thumb backwards to point to the wolves behind me, "and _then_ some".

We went full force into the gunfight, easily distinguishing the raiders by their clothes and symbols painted among them. We took them by surprise, coming from the back, and it felt like only seconds before the street was filled with silence. Their bodies littered about in blood strewn clothes. Lex picked off some random things from them, citing sadistically, 'they won't need these anymore' and laughing to himself. I shrugged. He wasn't wrong.

I narrowed my eyes at the civilians down the street. They were on the second-floor porch of a run-down theatre, singing their praises to us.

We slowly approached them, those of the pack in wolf form staying that way. Our priority was to help the commonwealth, not inform them of the evolved as a species. A man in what looked to be a cowboy hat walked a few feet forward, thanking us for saving them.

"Those are some hell of attack dogs you've got there," he drawled in a southern accent. "I'm Preston. Preston Harvey. You just about saved our asses in the nick of time."

"Pleasure," I smiled grimly. I wasn't great at making small talk or making friends outside my pack. "I'm Kayla, this is Caleb, Lex- " I quickly had to stop myself from naming my 'dogs' as if they were people. None of us were used to talking to people who weren't evolved. Having to omit certain things from conversation was part of the reason I found it difficult to speak to humans.

Caleb, who was more sociable, talked to the man named Preston, who in turn asked us to accompany his group to a settlement. The promise of food and water in exchange for our help made some of the packs head swivel towards him in agreement, and I struggled to make a decision on whether we should keep going in a disorganized fashion or follow them.

Preston brought up a place called Diamond City and said that we could acquire shelter and food there if we'd wish to do that instead. I listened as Caleb and him spoke, shaking my head.

The things we knew about the commonwealth weren't exactly what we'd been taught. Many of the roads and locations didn't exist anymore, and we'd been taught that Diamond City was a famous baseball field, not a homey safe location for wanderers and misfits. I swallowed hard, realizing a lot of our information seemed to be extremely outdated.

Preston sounded bewildered by our lack of knowledge of the _real_ Commonwealth, and we'd given the simple explanation of "things are better out west", which he'd accepted.

"We should be making our way to that settlement of yours before it gets dark," I spoke up, interrupting their conversation.

Preston and his team of riff raffs were providing us with valuable information, and I had a feeling we were going to need it in order to survive out here. I was struggling not to let it show that many of the things we spent months training for were lies, and we would have to relearn everything.

"Sorry guys," I muttered to Nina, Logan, Nick and Xena. They would have to remain in wolf form while we were with this group. It wasn't a huge deal, but I understood their frustration of not being able to be comfortable in their own skin.

* * *

The settlement was no more than a few other people inside a small one-story house. It was crammed with us all in there, so the wolves went outside to keep guard and leave room for the rest of us.

I watched meticulously how the one woman cooked. It didn't seem difficult, but they definitely didn't make a smoked mole rat. She poured us each a bowl of reddish colored beans, and then grabbed a large bin and poured the leftovers in it, taking it outside for the 'dogs'. We all greedily gulped the food down. It tasted nothing like the fresh and healthy food in Sanctuary, but it was at least something.

As we sat around the fireplace, in various states of chairs and old couches, I began to really observe what the commonwealth was like. People really lived like this. Everything was old. It was dirty and worn down. Their clothes were torn and hemmed what seemed like a million times, and their skin was etched with scars, dirt, and blood.

It became apparent by the smell, too, that they didn't bathe often. I wondered if they even had soap. I had a small one that Lex carried in his backpack for me, but I worried about how quickly that would run out.

And then I suddenly felt guilty. For the past 8 years, I'd had everything. Cleanliness, happiness, safety. These people seemed to have nothing, and yet they trudged on like it was normal life to them. I guess it was. I felt almost like it was rude to miss Sanctuary. I felt embarrassed that I didn't want to be here, that I didn't want to help. All I wanted to do was go home, but we couldn't.

* * *

I startled awake to the barking of my pack outside, and quickly flung myself from the table I'd fallen asleep at. I burst outside to see raiders disappearing down the country hill back into the city.

"What the hell just happened?" I yelled.

My pack were tied to posts outside. I ground my teeth in frustration but had to accept that it was one of the human's kind acts. They didn't want my damn dogs to run away. _Fuck._

"Again!" One of the women cried out, and I realized the situation as she sank to her knees in dirt. The raiders must've stolen what crops were matured, but they went out of their way to destroy the seedlings too.

"Scum of the earth," I heard Lex hiss behind me.

I ran back inside the house and grabbed my rifle, this time strapping it to my back.

"Our time has come," I said to Preston on the way out of the house. I looked back at the sobbing woman in her garden. More gently, I said, "we'll get your things back". She looked up, and I saw the hope in her eyes. There was something motivating about giving these people happiness. They didn't seem to have much of it. I wanted to give them some.

The wolves were quickly untied, and we took off after the raiders. Logan took the lead, trailing their scent down abandoned streets. After a few turns we heard the whooping and hollering of them, proud of themselves for thieving from people who hardly had anything. It made me sick to my stomach. It made me angry.

I ripped the gun off my back, and we ran towards them like madmen. In hindsight, running into these situations blind seemed like a bad idea, but it was absolutely exhilarating. The second I turned the corner of another street, I let off two shots. The raider instantly dropped to the ground, nearly incinerated by my laser. The other three took off into a parking garage.

 _Dammit_ , I thought. By the time we got to the entrance they'd all split up in different directions. Old cars were strewn everywhere, making it impossible to track them by sight.

"Logan, Lex, and Xena take the bottom; Nina, Nick and Caleb take the middle, I'll take the top," I ordered. For a second they hesitated, but they couldn't refuse an alpha's orders and took off to the stairs. They knew I could handle my own.

I stuck to the pavement instead of the stairs as I worked my way up, relying on my ears to discover their footsteps. I got to the top floor, staring out over the commonwealth, wondering where the hell the raider had disappeared too. I ran to the edge of the building, but there was nothing up here but blue sky and broken-down cars. No footsteps.

 _Fuck, they're all downstairs still_. I thought and started towards the staircase before I froze in terror.t

Feral ghouls seemed to come out of the woodwork of the cars. _Literally_. It's as if their bodies conformed to impossible shapes and oozed out of the metal. I was so busy listening for the raider that I'd been ignoring the slothing and slithering sound that they make as they move.

Their sudden screeches sounded like fucking dog whistles to my highly sensitive ears. I shot one and it fell, skidding along the pavement. The skin simply smeared right off of its body onto the ground, making me almost vomit. The next one fell in an eerily the same way. But they were still moving, crawling towards me. I started to panic as more feral ghouls appeared out of nowhere. I looked around me, but I was already at the edge. Down was not an option. Even with my advanced healing abilities, I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive jumping off a building.

Sideways was the only bad option I was left with. The building next to me was at least a seven foot jump, and the ledge was higher than this one, but it was a flat roof top. I just needed to get over there. I looked at the parking lot, and more feral ghouls than I could count were zooming towards me. In a split second, I was forced to make the jump.

My body slammed hard into the brick building, my fingertips were barely clinging to the ledge. I cried out as I felt a feral ghoul's claws rip into my legs. It slid all the way down, dragging its claws from my thighs to my ankles as it struggled to hold onto me. I kicked as hard as I could with my one free foot and it screeched before I heard a loud thump, realizing it must've fallen. I screamed bloody murder for my pack, unsure of how much longer I could hold onto the ledge.

I heard them race to the top floor, taking on the feral ghouls with ease in their united numbers, the hunt for the raiders was long forgotten in their minds. I managed to pull myself up to my elbows on the ledge, trying to kick my feet against the brick, but I cried out in pain from the damage the feral ghoul had done to my legs. One of my hamstrings had definitely been torn, my left leg was completely immobile and useless.

A thundering sound became apparent, and the wind picked up suddenly, whipping my long blonde hair across my face. I could barely see through the cloud of dust coming off the roof that it was one of those helicopters I'd seen earlier. I watched in horror as it began to lower closer to the building I was hanging off of. In bewilderment I stared at what looked like giant robots inside them, and my eyes grew wider when I realized they had extremely heavy artillery.

"Go!" I scream to Caleb. "Take them and go, now!" The pack didn't move, instead crying out to me. With tears in my eyes, I screamed again at them to run. They took a few steps back, and with one final command, they ran back to the staircase in fear. Caleb paused, turning back, and I nodded to him.

Fear coursed through me as the helicopter landed and three of the robots jumped out, guns raised as if there was a target in sight, but the ghouls had already been killed. They didn't point at me, curiously. I was now considering letting myself meet the same fate of the ghoul below me when a metal arm suddenly yanked me up and over the ledge, and I landed flat on my face with an "oof".

I rolled over just as the machine said, "All clear", to what I'm assuming were it's friends. I was stilled in complete fear as it stared down at me, before something clicked and I tried to get up to run. I cried out and immediately fell back over, forgetting how royally fucked my legs were. I pushed myself up against the small ledge, realizing how badly they were bleeding now too. I panted, looking at the three figures that were now surrounding me from a distance. Suddenly, one of them took off their…helmets? A human face appeared underneath, and I realized they weren't robots at all. They were people, hidden underneath bulky armor.

The one who had pulled me over the ledge squatted to get to eye level with me. His face showed some sort of concern that I hadn't expected. "Are you alright, civilian?" He asked. His voice was deep, a rough beard covered his jaw, and he had thick eyebrows.

This was the Brotherhood of Steel, whatever that meant. I knew that much. For as many dangerous things in the commonwealth, they were starting to seem less like one of them. I looked down at my legs, still struggling to catch my breath, and noticed the massive pool of blood underneath them.

"That doesn't…" my voice weakly trailed off. "That doesn't feel very good".

He moved closer towards me and I tried to move back, but I was already at the edge. I couldn't imagine how disheveled and afraid I must've looked to him. He paused, unsure of how to approach any closer. My head bobbed backwards from the blood loss. I knew my body could regenerate it, but not quickly enough that I wasn't getting extremely tired. The ground suddenly fell from beneath me and I realized he'd scooped me up into his arms. I lamely attempted to push against him to get away, but it was so pathetically weak that I accomplished nothing by doing so. He passed me off to someone on the helicopter, and then climbed in himself. I was too weak to refute anything that was happening.

"Try to keep your eyes open," someone shouted at me. The blades of the helicopter roared and made it nearly impossible to hear. "You've lost a lot of blood".

I squeezed them further shut as soon as I felt that partial weightlessness of being in the air. "I don't like heights," I weakly said, but it fell upon deaf ears. I struggled to remember what the Brotherhood's original message was. _Peaceful intentions_ , my clouded brain finally spoke.

 _Let's hope_ , I thought, and then my eyes rolled back into darkness.

* * *

I startled awake when the same man who rescued me set me down on a bed. To be more specific, I realized it was a _hospital_ bed, once I looked around.

"The back of her legs are pretty cut up. Feral ghouls," he shook his head, speaking to an older looking man with frosty white hair and a lab coat.

My mouth went dry when I realized they were about to find some things drastically wrong with me. For one, my legs were starting to heal, and my blood had regenerated on the way back from wherever we were. I also didn't doubt the fatal temperature would go over very well.

I sat up suddenly, pushing myself as far back as possible with my one good leg. My hamstring was in the mends from my advanced healing, but it wasn't close enough to use yet. They looked over but didn't seem very alarmed. The (what I assumed to be) doctor strode over with a confused look on his face. He was staring at the spot my legs _had_ been.

"I thought you said she was losing a lot of blood," he stated simply.

The man in the armor took a few giant steps, and confusion crossed his face too. "She was," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

 _That didn't take long._ I thought bitterly. I reached behind my head in panic, trying to feel for my weapons only to find I didn't have any attached to me anymore. I scanned the room in seconds to see them sitting atop a desk a few feet away. I didn't hesitate in leaping towards them, only to be thrown suddenly backwards onto the bed by cold metal hands. I quickly scurried backwards as far as I could again, this time curling my legs towards me as much as I could.

"We're trying to help you, not hurt you," the man spoke, this time directed at me. His brown eyes reflected hardness, but some other emotion snuck into them. Pity? Maybe.

"You're scaring her," the doctor chastised, pushing him away. "Give her the damn bow if she wants it," he said. My wide eyes stayed glued to him as he sauntered over and picked up my bow and arrows.

"I don't think that's a good id-", the tin man was suddenly cut off by a thwack on the back of the head, and he retreated to the doorway like a kicked puppy.

I watched every movement in slow motion as the doctor came to a stop at my bedside and held out my weapon. He wanted me to take it. I met his eyes with confusion, trying to figure out what his angle was.

 _He wants me to feel safe_. I realized. I reached out slowly and grasped my bow. I was almost worried he would take it back for some reason. I gripped it tightly in between my chest and my legs. I didn't really have any intention of using it, but he was right. I did feel safer.

Maybe these people really did have peaceful intentions. But I wasn't about to trust them. I watched as he took a few steps back, still making no attempt to treat my wounds, and instead by asking me what my name was. For a while I was silent, my eyes flicked between the two of them, debating what I was going to say, if I was going to say anything.

I swallowed hard and relaxed into sitting criss-cross on the bed, ignoring the blinding pain in my left leg.

"Kayla," I stated quietly.

He smiled brightly, and little crows feet appeared near his eyes. "Great!" He sounded so happy with himself. "You can call me Cade, and your not-so-hospitable knight in shining armor is Paladin Danse."

My eyebrows knotted together in confusion. "Paladin?" I asked, looking between them. What the hell kind of a name was that?

"Every brotherhood member has a rank. It's disrespectful to speak their name informally," the soldier answered. He made a pointed look at Cade and then at me, and I assumed that Case had a rank that I should be addressing him by too. "This must be a lot for you to take in, but you'll have almost all of your questions answered soon. First, your injuries need to be attended to."

I wasn't quite satisfied with that. I had no idea where I even was. I couldn't begin to imagine how my pack was feeling right now. We'd been through some doozies, but having an alpha disappear can cause chaos. I only hoped Caleb was holding everything together.

When the doctor made a move towards me, I instinctively cried out, "no!". He paused, unsure of what to do. "I'm fine," I said more calmly, trying to take deep breaths. "Really," I strained. "Fine." _Way to really sell that one, Kayla._

He shrugged and looked at Paladin Danse. "I can't do anything if she refuses medical attention. She's technically a civilian." This answer didn't satisfy the soldier, the grimace on his face making that very clear. His face resigned to something of lesser annoyance a few seconds later, and he paced back and forth.

"Elder Maxson is aware that she's aboard," the Paladin said. _Aboard?_ I thought. _Aboard what?_ "He'll want to meet with her as soon as possible, if you've given her the all clear," Danse directed at Cade.

Cade glanced over at me and shrugged, "I can't exactly just keep her here if she doesn't want to be."

Danse turned to me before opening his mouth again, "If you're so sure that you're fine, then you'll be able to walk with me to meet him".

* * *

I had way too big of an ego to admit that I was no where near fully healed. I slowly shifted my legs so that they were straight, and then swung them over the edge of the bed. I grimaced when my left foot touched the floor, and for more than one reason.

"Oh gross," I moaned, realized my socks and sneakers were so soaked in blood that they made little gushing sounds when my feet put pressure on the floor. I kicked them off in disgust. I looked up to the sound of Cade rummaging through a box, suddenly producing a _really_ gross pair of flats that looked like they would be too small for my feet. He set them on the floor near me and I grimaced at the sight of them, but figured anything would be better than walking barefoot on the metal floors here.

Cade never touched me but stood close by when I went to get off the bed. I could tell he was worried I was going to fall. I felt comfortable around him. I couldn't say the same about the tin can waiting for me in the doorway. I slung my bow and arrows over my back once more and pushed myself to stand. I wobbled slightly, testing out how much pressure I could put on each leg. I pretended not to have an extreme need to limp, and instead suffered through the pain as I walked towards Paladin Danse after I put my way too small shoes on. He startled me by turning quickly down the corridor and walking away. His long legs carried him a lot faster than my short, injured ones could. We arrived quickly at the end of a hallway. Well, _he_ arrived quickly, _I_ staggered to keep up and nearly ran right into him.

Everything that I could see was metal. Metal floors. Metal walls. Metal doors. If they had any windows, they'd probably be metal too.

As I was distractedly looking around, Danse started to disappear up a ladder, which, you guessed it, was made of metal.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?" I said, panting. I put my hands on my knees to try and catch my breath.

"Watch your language," he quipped, looking down. "That kind of disrespect will not be tolerated." I rolled my eyes at his aggression. It's not like I worked for him, but he was lucky I was brought up with some semblance of respect.

He quickly disappeared up the ladder to the next floor, and I saw his head peer down at me.

"You know?" I said. "I think I'll just stay down here for now. Yeah, all this metal, it's pretty cozy," I panted like a dog.

"You wanted to put on a brave face, so let's see it."

"Talk about tough love," I muttered.

There was a room next to the ladder, and Paladin Danse guided me to the open doorway. Everything was metal up here, too. A man stood in a long coat, with his arms clasped behind his back. He was facing towards the windows. He didn't turn when the tin can announced his presence, and I figured that meant he ranked above him. At least _he_ wasn't dressed up like a can of old soup.

Finally he spoke. "I'm Elder Maxson. I run this division of the Brotherhood. State your business, civilian." His voice was low, like Paladin Danse's, but an air of authority resounded with it. I didn't know what to say to him. I didn't _have_ any business with them. They pretty much kidnapped me, not the other way around.

"I was simply minding my own business when _somebody_ decided to intervene," I threw an accusatory glance at the Paladin next to me.

"I'm aware," Elder Maxson said sharply. "I've read Paladin Danse's report. Five stories is quite a fall, however, so arguably he saved you a great deal of trouble." I almost snorted a laugh, but stopped as he turned to face us. It was difficult to see his face properly with the sun shining directly in my eyes. "What _I'm_ interested in, is the fact that you seem to no longer possess the severe injuries that you did less than an hour ago. The only kind of people I would associate such an event is the Institute.

I glanced at the Paladin for some help with an explanation, but he didn't provide me with any assistance.

"Um, the Institute?" My pack had studied very little information on them, and so I only hoped they had as little of knowledge as I did.

Paladin Danse quickly nudged me and whispered, "sir", suddenly hell bent on me being formal.

"What?" I asked blatantly, turning to Danse. It looked like he was going to have a stroke.

"Do you always address your superiors so carelessly?" Elder Maxson eyes turned on me. His voice sounded irritated, and his face confirmed it. Albeit, he was pretty hot when I looked him once over.

My face scrunched up in similar irritation. _I'm my own superior, jackass_. I thought. But I did have superiors back in sanctuary, and I wouldn't address them carelessly. He was right. I wouldn't admit that though.

I met his stare. He waited for me to answer but I remained silent. I could feel the Paladin beside me was ready to explode watching the exchange, so I settled by shrugging and looking at the ground.

He turned back towards the windows, getting side tracked from the original conversation. "I like to meet everyone who boards the Predwyn." _Again with this weird lingo shit, where the fuck was I?_ "You can't always judge a book by it's cover. Who to trust…who to not trust," his gaze flickered at me pointedly as he paced in the sunlight. "The Institute is a major concern to us, and to everyone who resides in the Commonwealth. They're a disease, festering and destroying the very value of human life. They need to be obliterated, and that's why we're here."

"I don't know anything about them," I stated simply. That was relatively true. I knew they created synths, and that was about the extent of my knowledge. I also knew it was one of the many items on the pack's kill list, but clearly I hadn't prioritized it as high as this guy did.

"And yet, I find that difficult to believe. The stimpaks _we_ use generate accelerated healing, but no where near the rate at which you have healed. It leaves us with a number of unanswered questions about exactly who and what we're dealing with," he replied coldly.

I narrowed my eyes at his indirect accusation, "I have a vested interest in _destroying_ the Institute, not helping it." Also true, but it was still low on my list of things to accomplish.

"For someone who doesn't know anything about the Institute, how do you expect to accomplish such a task?" He asked blankly.

I shifted my feet, unsure of how to answer. "We hadn't discussed it yet," I settled with.

His face scrunched up in irritation and his eyes flickered at Paladin Danse for some sort of answer. "We?" He asked.

I was getting tired of answering so many god damn questions. "Yes, my p-" I hesitated, trying to think of the militia words they used. _Pack_ certainly wasn't one of them. "My recon team."

I could tell my answer confused him, but he didn't let his face show it. "You're clearly not associated with the Brotherhood of Steel, so what military division _are_ you working for? The railroad? The minutemen?" He barked, and it certainly sounded like those names weren't exactly friends of his. Curiously enough, the pack had never studied them.

"I don't know what those are," I shrugged honestly. I mulled over my thoughts, trying to find an explanation that would satisfy him. I figured creating a massive lie was the way to go. "We're part of a small group called Evolutionary that operates out west." _Not_ true. "Our recon team's one and only mission is to cleanse the commonwealth of the filth that resides here." _Very_ true.

His hand rubbed along the stubble of his beard, contemplating what I'd said.

"Then it appears our ideals may be aligned after all," he stated. "What is the location of your team? Perhaps it would be best to discuss this when all your members are present."

 _Discuss what?_ I thought absently. _Did he think I was allying with them?_ I looked around and started to realize I might not have much of a choice. These people, especially this Elder Maxson, didn't look like they liked being told no. The thought of them also getting their hands on my pack made me nauseous.

"I…I'm not sure," I said. I was being a lot more honest today than I thought I'd be. "We got separated when a group of ferals…well, it doesn't matter. We just arrived in the Commonwealth two nights ago, so we hadn't set up a rendezvous point yet." I realize how stupid that made my pack look. I felt guilty for not providing my pack with a stable lay back point.

Elder Maxson looked out the windows and stood silent for a few minutes. I glanced at Paladin Danse, but he didn't seem bothered by having to wait patiently for him to speak again.

"I believe we can come to a mutual agreement in the exchange of information, if you should be so interested. You can work with Paladin Danse in the discovery of information of the Institute, and in exchange, you'll share _any_ knowledge your team has of the Commonwealth." He said. _Fat lot that'll do,_ I thought, _all our information is outdated. "_ I'll agree to the terms of a small alliance with your division temporarily, and once you've proven that your worthy to the Brotherhood's ideals, we can solidify the contract."

That sounded a lot like 'if you do anything that we don't like, we'll just kill you'.

"For now, you'll be granted with the rank of Initiate. It's the lowest ranking title in the Brotherhood, and you'll be expected to go above and beyond to prove yourself to your superiors, which includes me. Paladin Danse will teach you our ideals and you are expected to follow them without question," Maxson continued. This was sounding less and less interesting, and I had to resist rolling my eyes at the formality in which he spoke. "We'll work something out in locating the rest of your recon team, as to prevent any causalities." I liked the sound of that. "On _both_ of our sides." I didn't like the sound of that.

"Do you understand, Initiate?" The intensity between his stare and his voice was debilitating.

I was silent for a moment. I needed to get back to my pack, but I would be of no use to them if I was dead. I sighed. These muscles for brains might be my best shot at finding them.

"Yes, I understand," I said.

 _What, oh what, have you gotten yourself into now, Kayla?_

* * *

I took a gulp of air once we were back down the ladder and out of sight from Elder Maxson.

"Elder Maxson can be intense," Danse said after seeing my expression. "But he means well. He truly cares for his people." I could tell Danse bled Brotherhood based on the way he spoke with so much admiration for his intimidating leader.

"But…" I paused, unsure of how to word it. "His…age?" I finally asked. He looked more like my age than Danse's.

"He's young, but don't let that fool you. Elder Maxson is a prime example of everything that the Brotherhood stands for, and he knows how to guide soldiers properly under those beliefs. He's fearless _and_ tactical, making him a vital weapon of guidance and intelligence for our cause."

 _He didn't seem_ that _great,_ I thought to myself.

Danse's giant steps caused me to partially run just to keep up as we continued to descend the long hallway.

I ran to catch up to his side. "Hey, um, I'm sorry about…earlier. Being defensive and whatnot. I just didn't feel comfortable. Well, I still don't, actually, but-"

"It was an appropriate reaction for the situation, Initiate," he huffed, but then he slowed his pace. "You should get to spend some time to know the people here. You'll be spending a lot of time with them. After all, they _are_ your brothers and sisters now." _Fantastic_ , I thought dryly.

"Sir, yes, sir!" I gave him a mock salute and had to stifle a laugh. He gave me a disdained look in response.

He then decided I shouldn't introduce myself alone.

After showing me the _proper_ Brotherhood salute, we stopped in various rooms so that Paladin Danse could "introduce his new initiate" or whatever he called it. I stopped paying attention after the third person we met. We came to a sudden halt and Danse's intense stare turned on me. "We're going to get one thing straight, and right away. By whatever sick and twisted scheme, I'm somehow responsible for you. That means everything you do, reflects on me. If you fuck up, I fuck up. And I'm not going to stand around and let you tarnish the reputation I've taken so long to build up here. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I shoved his hand out of my face. "Yes, Jesus Christ, do any of you guys ever cut out the intensity bullshit?"

He looked like his face was going to explode. " _That_ is the kind of behavior I'm talking about. You _cannot_ and _will not_ go around with that attitude or use of language."

"Okay, okay. I understand," I said. I felt like kicked puppy.

He visibly seemed to relax and then nodded to himself, as if my answer had satisfied his worries, and continued on down the hallway.

I caught up to him quickly. "Sorry," I said quietly.

* * *

I sat down next to Paladin Danse at one of the long tables in what was called the 'mess hall'. He'd given me a plate of food, which surprised me, because I'd managed to piss him off again when he was trying to explain to Proctor Ingrim what caused the damage to his robot suit. After the third time of gritting through his teeth that it was _actually_ called power armor, he finally snapped at me when I'd found a chair with wheels on it and started spinning around. Ingrim at least seemed to find my antics amusing, so I made a mental note to hang around her more often.

Other people filled in the table with us, and I didn't appreciate being squeezed so tightly between two people. I was pretty sure the misery showed clearly on my face, since there weren't many attempts made by anyone to talk to me. They did, however, ogle over the Paladin, and I started to realize that maybe he was more important than I had originally pegged him for.

I stabbed the brown lump on my plate with the fork and held it up. _What the fuck was it?_ I wondered.

"Oh, Salisbury steak!" A girl in front of me said, and I looked across at her. "They always give initiates a good meal on the first night." She said it empathetically, as though I had a reason to be deserving of a good meal.

I looked from her back to it, still unsure of exactly what it was.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "If you're vegetarian, we can switch. I got mac n cheese." I was surprised by the informality of the entire situation unfolding in front of me, and had yet to figure out when it was appropriate to switch between being a tin can to an actual human being.

The guy next to her elbowed her. "Stop trying to steal all the good meals, Haylen, let the girl eat." She blushed in response.

I set the brown lump back down on my plate, still staring at it. "I don't get it," I said, finally breaking the silence. The table seemed to quiet their own conversations as they listened into ours. "What does Salisbury mean?" I looked up and for a second, Danse and the two people across from me were silent. They suddenly erupted with laughter, shaking the whole table.

"Boss, you didn't tell me she was a comedian," the guy next to Haylen said, shaking Danse's hand from across the table.

My cheeks turned red with embarrassment, and I looked down at the table. I wondered if I was allowed to leave Danse's side, or at least go sit somewhere else. I didn't want to eat anything anymore.

The laughter died down and Haylen quickly noticed my expression. She slid her plate over and took mine, saying that I could have her food instead.

"Oh come on, next you'll say you don't know what Mac n Cheese is," the guy next to Haylen laughed. I didn't answer and his smile fell. "Jesus, you really don't." His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Excuse my language, boss, but where the fuck did you find this girl?" It was clear they were allowed to speak that way, but I wasn't.

I didn't say anything, and they eventually awkwardly moved on to another topic. My eyes wandered around the room, trying to take everything in, but it wasn't much different from the hallways I'd walked through earlier.

Everything was fucking made of metal.

I turned to Danse, waiting so that I didn't interrupt his conversation. "Paladin, am I allowed to leave?" I tried to be polite as possible, since my mouth had already had multiple occasions in less than a day of getting me in trouble.

"Dismissed," he said simply, and then turned back to his friends. I stood up and the two people across the table quickly harvested the full plate out of my hands for their own consumption.

* * *

I wandered around for a while, unsure of what to do. The Paladin had explained earlier that once I was dismissed for the day, I was free to do what I wanted, as long as I remained inside. _Big surprise_ I thought bitterly. I sat on the edge of the small bed that had been assigned to me, resting my bow and arrows on top of the green locker at the end. I laid on top of the covers, staring at the ceiling. There was nothing here for me. No one I trusted, and my only belongings were my weapon and clothes. I was no longer the one in charge. I felt like nobody. I was nobody, at least to them. I sighed and fell asleep for a few hours on an empty stomach, and according to the initiate's clock next to me, woke up around 2 in the morning.

It was near silent now, with only a few people milling about, minding their own business. I was done sleeping for the night, having rested somewhat peacefully for my maximum four hours. My requirement for little sleep was definitely something I'd have to explain at some point. I sank into my thoughts for a while, before heaving myself out of bed and walking down the stairs to the main floor. It was deserted, like the top floor, and I found peace in that. There was no one to stare or mock me for not knowing what something was.

I sat down on one of the bar stools and made polite small talk with the bartender. He got the hint that I didn't feel like talking and went about meticulously cleaning glassware and machinery. For a while, I sat there with my head in my hand. I worried about my pack, and I wondered if they were out searching for me. I cringed, realizing the time of night, and worried even more that they _were_ looking for me at insane hours of the night.

The bar stool next to me squeaked as someone sat down, and I recognized the long coat before I looked up. Elder Maxson nursed a glass of whiskey in one hand and caught the bartender's attention for another glass. Unexpectedly, he pushed the new glass towards me. I wasn't sure if it was rude to refuse something from him, so I took a sip. And then another. And another. It was quickly empty, but that didn't stop the bartender from refilling it instantly. For the first time since I'd been in the Commonwealth, my stomach felt warm.

"What's on your mind?" He asked. I looked at him, trying to gauge how to answer, but he was staring straight ahead. I couldn't understand why he wanted to know. Or cared to know. The people here hadn't been particularly nice to me, including him.

"I miss my family," I spoke honestly, looking back down at the honey-colored liquid in my glass. At least that wasn't a lie. My human memories had almost all disappeared when I evolved, though, so I missed something that I couldn't even remember. It was a difficult feeling to understand.

"Are they here?" The more I drank, the more I felt compelled to answer. I couldn't tell if he meant are they here, as in alive, or are they here, as in the commonwealth.

I sighed and took another sip, "I hope not." That was also the truth. He raised an eyebrow at my response. "It's not safe for them if they are here," I clarified.

He nodded, "The Commonwealth is a dangerous place." And then we were silent again, both nursing our own drinks.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Why are you awake? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked suddenly. "Sir," came as an afterthought. He waved his hand slightly as if he didn't care about the formality at this time of night.

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied, and held his glass over the bar to be refilled.

The warmth of the whiskey buzzed around my entire body, because I started to really realize how attractive he was. I set my glass down, trying to shake myself of those thoughts.

I turned away from him to stare at the wall behind the bar. I had so many questions about this place, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to tell me where the exit was. Instead I got sucked back into thinking about the pack and what they could be up to. If they broke in here, they'd have easily two hundred guns aimed at them. I gripped my glass tighter and swallowed the entire glass in one gulp. It was seconds before it was filled again. _Last one,_ I promised myself.

"Did you really not know what the food was?" He asked suddenly, quizzically. My cheeks burned redder than a tomato and I shook my head.

Gossip must've been like air to these people for him to have known about that.

I considered telling him the partial truth, that I couldn't remember past a certain point of my life. It would explain why I didn't know what so many things in the commonwealth were, such as whatever a Salisbury steak was. Then I realized that would make me sound like a synth, which only had partial memories, and decided to truck down a different route.

My shoulders shrank in embarrassment. "We don't have things like that where I'm from," I finally settled with. I was beginning to realize I was indulging information that I didn't want him, or anyone here, to know. But the whiskey was making those realizations _after_ the words left my mouth.

"And where exactly _are_ you from?" As soon as he asked that, I began to piece together what was happening.

My eyes narrowed at him, and then I looked at my glass. I wanted to push it away, realizing he was conniving me into getting drunk so that I would tell him what he wanted to know. But in the same moment, some part of me wanted to keep talking to him. I'd felt more comfortable now than I had all day.

"If I tell you, can I have something in return?" I asked lightly.

"I don't make negotiations," he replied coldly, the warmth of our conversation quickly disappearing. "Your place of birth isn't of significant enough interest to warrant freely giving you something." _Then why ask?_ I wondered.

"Charming," I muttered, and I noticed one of his fingers twitch against his glass.

"Something you'd like to repeat, Initiate?" His voice was like ice.

"No," I cleared my throat. "Sir," I added as an afterthought.

He got up and walked away, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I could've sworn I was getting whiplash from everyone's sudden changes in mood.

* * *

I groaned as people began to bustle and make noise. It was a few hours after I'd left the bar, but now early morning, and I held a pillow over my face.

It hadn't crossed my mind that I'd need caps until the bartender had demanded payment for my drinks. Apparently _Maxson_ drank for _free._ The same rules didn't apply to me. Lex was in charge of dealing with finances, and when it became clear that I had no caps on me, the bartender let me go with a quick "you owe me".

 _Favors_ I thought sickly. _By the time I got out of here, I'll owe three hundred favors to three hundred people._

I rolled over onto my stomach, my face smooshed directly into the pillow. I'd had an actual conversation with Elder Maxson, and I couldn't get it out of my head. But _why?_ He was infuriating and angry half the time he spoke, but there was something I couldn't shake about him.

When Paladin Danse came to collect me, I moaned and told him to go away. His simple response was to grab the back of my shirt and dump me on the metal floor, where I acquired a nice long scratch on my face from the corner of the sharp metal bed post. Now I was hungover _and_ got to tell everyone that my superior threw me on the ground as a wake-up call. Great.

We sat in the same seating arrangement in the mess hall as last night, where the guy whose name I now knew as Reeves, said something mockingly about cereal. Haylen punched him on the arm and offered to help me acquire breakfast. There wasn't much in way of choices, and I didn't know what any of it was called. Haylen tried her best to explain what things were but it went in one ear and out the next. It was all processed crap. We'd never have anything like that in Sanctuary. I was surprised when I came across watermelon and happily took a serving of that.

When I sat back down, I realized the others at the table were stealing glances at me and my food.

Without Elder Maxson or Paladin Danse present yet, I snarled "I know what fucking _watermelon_ is."

" _Language,_ initiate." Maxson's sharp voice corrected behind me. I jumped and then sat stiffly as he sat down next to me, stealing Danse's spot. Instead of the warmth and somewhat comfort I felt being next to him during part of last night, I was nervous and jittery, suddenly wanting to be able to leave. I craned my neck trying to figure out where the tin man had gone so that I could ask for dismissal, but he was no where to be found.

"You'll be shadowing me today," he stated simply, and I realized he was talking to me. "Paladin Danse is out on a mission with his other initiate." I didn't even know he had another initiate. How come they got to leave and I didn't?

I quickly got a case of the sour grapes when I realized Maxson was already done his breakfast and leaving. "Let's go," he barked, and I threw my full plate away, running to catch up to him. For the second day in a row, I hadn't eaten. _Great_.

We were back in the room where Elder Maxson had first interrogated me. I sat on one of the couches, which was honestly comfier than my bed, and did nothing but watch while he debriefed soldiers and reassigned others. I watched the interactions with interest. Although stern, there was a level of care in his voice, and I could tell he was making sure his little puppets were healthy and happy. I fixated on the table in the center of the room. Did I do that? Did my pack know that I cared? I wasn't even sure I showed it anymore. My breath caught in my throat when I realized that they might not be searching for me at all. Not because I wanted them to stay safe, but because maybe I was a shitty alpha. I'd never once, in eight years, stopped to really consider how they might've viewed me as their leader.

I sank deeper into thought and tried to run through scenarios with my pack. I never asked them if they were okay. I never sat down with them and wondered how they were feeling or what they were going through. I'd always assumed they would come to me with any problems. Expected it.

I looked back over at Maxson as he interacted with one of his paladins and their knight. He appeared to have a vested interest in them accomplishing their task in a timely and fashioned order, but there was a level of safety woven through his instructions.

My pack had never been much for safety, considering the 'guns a blazing' approach we took to a lot of situations.

When the Elder dismissed his minions, I quietly asked to use the bathroom, to which I only got a slight nod, and I disappeared down the ladder. It took forever to find it again, and I had to ask a very irritated Scribe for directions. I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror, throwing cold water in my face.

 _This sucks,_ I thought bitterly. _I should be out looking for my pack right now, and I'm stuck in a metal toy box._

I pulled my weapon harness off. It was useless today anyway, since I hadn't equipped my bow and arrow. I twirled my hair into a high ponytail, tying it off and facing my back to the mirror. Two long and wide scars still ran down my back from a night long ago.

It had been a while since I'd thought about that night, when the pack had been captured by a sadistic group of raiders. After hours of torturing and playing with us, Lex had confessed part of who we were. They'd began a twisted game of calling us angels and saying we were from heaven because we'd been evolved to look that way. And then, the one with a scar over his eye had exclaimed that he wanted to know if I had wings. The pain of his knife that cut into my back so many times that night was like no other. Never again did I wonder how cool it would be to have the ability to fly. I never wanted the experience of being up high ever again. I wouldn't realize how ironic that statement would become until later.

I splashed my face with cold water again and went to go face whatever stupid lecture Maxson was sure to have. I was beginning to hate it here.

* * *

Maxson spent a solid hour lecturing me about responsibilities and putting personal feelings aside for missions. Yada, yada, yada. I struggled not to yawn through the entirety of it, but at least he dismissed me for the rest of the day after that. For a few hours, I wandered around the Predwyn, being sure to steer clear of his office for fear of another Brotherhood morals lesson. I looked around for somewhere I could have just a single moment alone and struggled to find anything.

Everyone else were all busying themselves with their designated tasks, and yet I had none. I guess it didn't come as much of a surprise, since they had absolutely zero trust in me, and I gave them reason enough to find me suspicious. A recon team involved in a military division they'd never heard of? I found it hard to believe that _they_ actually believed me.

My stomach churned from the leftover alcohol and lack of food I'd eaten for the past few days. I didn't drink a lot back at Sanctuary. It was highly frowned upon for alphas to be "so irresponsible". It made me feel guilty that I'd drank last night to try and drown out thoughts of my pack. It wasn't like there was anything I could do to find them yet, and yet the raw guilt still managed to hang in my throat.

* * *

I skipped lunch, not wanting to go through the ordeal of someone making a mockery of what I ate. Instead, I slipped into one of the communal bathrooms where the showers were. After a few polite ma'ams and sirs, and please and thank you's, I had some extra soap and a towel to shower. It felt amazing to finally feel warm water on my skin after a few days. I meticulously cleaned every inch of my skin of the disgusting filth that reminded me of the commonwealth's ugly presence. It was like a fucking itch I couldn't scratch.

I dried off and dressed, looking in the mirror while I rubbed my long blonde hair with the towel. My skin was still a dark tan, but I wasn't sure how long it would last being locked in this ice box. In sanctuary, it was sunny every day, all day. I sighed and then wondered what to do with my new-found toiletries. I settled for hanging the towel over my bedframe and throwing the soap in the green locker at the foot of it.

I sat at the edge of my bed, once again wondering what to do with myself, when I remember Danse's instructions to visit Cade at some point. I was bored out of my mind anyways, so I slipped down to the medic ward. I found his office and stood in the doorway, suddenly unsure of what to do or say. He was engrossed over a medical textbook laying on his desk.

"Hi," I said, and he jumped. His frosty white hair seemed to splay out in every direction, giving him a mad man sort of look.

"Well, look at you! They finally took you off the leash, huh?" He exclaimed. I wondered if he was always this happy to see his patients. Something told me he wasn't.

"Hardly," I scoffed, and walked over to his desk. "What are you reading?" I asked. My eyes honed in on a picture of molecular regeneration on one of the pages.

He tried to casually close the book, but I stuck my fingers in the pages and opened it back up. He was reading about evolutionary theories related to advanced cellular regeneration. My eyes narrowed.

"That's an interesting topic for a field doctor," I claimed. He squirmed in his chair but then stood up, pulling various books and magazines with sticky notes all over them.

"I've been studying it for such a long time. Fascinating, really, it is. What we think we know! HA!" He threw up his hands like a crazy person. I thought back to when I'd first met him, gone from bleeding out to not bleeding at all. His intensity towards me had flipped like a light switch in those seconds. Maybe he was trying to make a connection. "The institute- though- they're always up to no good, getting their hands into cookie jars they shouldn't…" he flustered around another cabinet.

I was taken aback suddenly. "The Institute? What do they have to do with molecular regeneration?" I asked.

He paused to look up at me for a split second, and simply remarked, "interesting…". He went back to the disheveled cabinet while he explained. "Everything. Nothing. I don't know. They've been playing the evolutionary gods for years, so sure, everyone knows about the synths-" he slammed what looked to be a field report down, "-but the real deal? They create angels." His eyes brimmed with excitement.

"…Angels, huh?" I was losing interest pretty quickly. He seemed two knocks away from a coo coo's nest. I had to stifle a laugh when I imagined someone with big fluffy wings on their back.

"Oh, well, you make it sound so meh. There's so much more to all of this! But, alas, you don't look too intrigued," his voice trailed down a few octaves in disappointment.

I felt bad when I shook my head.

He sat down at his desk, reorganizing the mess of papers he had made when he'd struggled to excitedly explain his lobbying interest. "Well, now," he said, sounding suddenly clear headed and normal. "There must be some reason you've decided to drop by. Not many people come by for a social visit."

 _Yikes,_ I thought. _But I understood why no one wanted to have a casual chat with him._

I awkwardly shuffled my feet, looking around. "Uhm, Paladin Danse instructed me to come here, but he didn't tell me why."

He adjusted his glasses. "Ah, always the Paladin, never the Knight."

I stared blankly. "Huh?"

"Never mind now, it's just an expression," he said, scrunching his nose. "They never explain anything, is all. Always a big shroud of mystery. Let's see here…" He rummaged through some more papers on his desk. "Ah, yes, I have a few medical questions I need to ask you. Completely routine, everyone goes through this. It'll clear you as fit for duty," he explained.

 _So that's why I couldn't leave today with the Paladin¸_ I thought.

Once I answered his questions, I quickly left his office before I learned anything more about his crazy angel theories. But I did have a doubt of suspicion resting somewhere in my gut. I found it hard to believe that Maxson's questions about my injuries healing so quickly and Cade's sudden dwell into molecular regeneration weren't related.

Perhaps the Elder had as much ulterior motive as I did.

 **So I'm not entirely sure if I'll keep all the chapters this long, but it was important to lay a foundation for the story. Things will become more clear as time trecks on, but this is a slow burner, folks. Let me know what you think!**


	2. Fort Strong

**A/N: So okay, I know I said no sole survivor, but I've decided the storyline will make _way_ more sense if I include her. Keep in mind, the Evolved and the storyline of Fallout4 are _very intertwined_ , but it's going to be a real slow burn to figure out why that is (there are a LOT of moving parts working together here, and I don't want to rush them). Maxson won't seem like such a complete dick all the time. It also doesn't make sense that Kayla is unfamiliar with the Minutemen, so that's going to change; However, I think that because of the secrecy of the Railroad, it makes sense that the Evolved's knowledge in that department is lacking. Other things may change and evolve (ha), so I'll keep any updates in the author notes at the beginning of each chapter.**

The real tragedy came the next morning, when Paladin Danse came to collect me for a mission. I laid awake the entire night in fear of being tossed onto the metal floor again as a wake-up call. He seemed less aggressive when he realized I was already awake and ready, and introduced me to a curious Initiate standing behind him named Jess. Her dull brown hair was short, but her skin was nearly pristine, much different than the dirty and unkept appearances of most people I'd encountered in my short time in the Commonwealth. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought she had just came out of a vault.

And she had, apparently.

She was about as dumbstruck about the Commonwealth as me, and her timid nature appeared constantly, making me uneasy. I was used to the comfort of my pack's confidence swirling around me, and the lack of physical bonds in which I could feel their emotions had me reeling. At least around my pack, I could feel their emotions. But this? How could someone even feel comfortable lacking that their entire life.

 _She_ knew what a Salisbury steak was, so I couldn't help but be a little sour when Rhys made a joke about it as we walked down the hallway to the flight deck. Danse explained that Elder Maxson was waiting out there to give us our first mission as a "team". I missed my pack even more at his choice of term.

True to his word, Maxson was waiting at the far end of the flight deck, staring out at the Commonwealth just as he had the day before. The era of intensity that floated around him made me both uncomfortable and angry. _I_ was used to being the one in control, giving out orders. Now I was sitting here, eating my words because I had to take orders from someone else. Someone whose position _I_ should be in.

I huffed as he explained what we were looking at: Fort Strong, loaded with a sizeable amount of arsenal weapons that would benefit the Brotherhood's involvement in the Commonwealth. Jess was over-joyously agreeing to doing the mission before he'd even fully explained it, which seemed to annoy the both of us. I didn't take him for someone who liked to be interrupted.

"Look," Maxson said, his mouth forming into a thin line between words. "I understand your eager to take the fight to the Institute, but there are greater things at work here. You cannot and will not just go running into situations that you aren't prepared for."

She nodded in response instead of opening her mouth again.

I watched the small movements on the peninsula from the bridge, walking to the railing and leaning over as I saw something _much_ bigger slowly drag around the ruins.

"Behemoth?" I asked, my eyes wide. Even from here, the thing looked _huge_. I'd known they existed and studied them, but seeming them was another thing entirely.

"How can you see that from here?" Paladin Danse suddenly asked from being me, jolting me out of my thoughts. I realized that they wouldn't be able to see shit in comparison to me, but whatever. Little late to take that back now.

Maxson cleared his throat. "A hive of super mutants and a behemoth appear to be guarding the facility. At least 7 outside, expected to be double that inside. The easiest course of action will be to use the minigun on the vertibird and take out the Behemoth from above, and finish the rest with the ground unit supporting your team."

I'd been foolish with the feral ghouls, being so caught off guard, but I'd have no problem taking out the super mutants. They may appear intimidating and large, but they had rocks for brains.

"I have a better idea," I murmured, squaring my shoulders as I took a step back from the railing. I fucking hated heights.

Danse stepped on my foot with his power armor when he, too, stepped back from the railing. I had no doubts it was an intentional way of saying that I was being disrespectful for suggesting that Maxson's idea wasn't as good.

"Don't." Danse said, so I didn't say anything more.

Maxson turned around to face the three of us, but his face scrutinized mine only, and I realized _he_ wanted me to tell my idea.

"Gun tag," I said simply. "It's something my p- my team does for situations like this. It's a small perimeter to secure, so flank soldiers on both sides of the peninsula. Both sides shoot at the same target at the same time. Mutants are morons, so they just spin around in circles. They die before they can decide what side to shoot at." I shrugged, taking my eyes away from Maxson's _insanely_ tense stare he was giving me. "Less likely to have causalities when all they're doing is spinning a hole into the ground."

His eyes narrowed, but something in them was calculating what I had said. He turned to look back towards the mutant hive, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Years in the capital wasteland and our tactical teams have never thought to practice a method like that. Certainly an interesting concept. See to it that the arsenals get recovered safely. Maybe you'll prove your worth to the Brotherhood after all." He finally said.

So he _had_ been assuming I'd be pretty worthless. Charming.

The battle at Fort Strong went pretty seamlessly. After briefing the supporting ground units on my idea, they saw it through quickly and efficiently. No casualties on our end. Maxson had been right, there were almost double the amount of super mutants inside, but they were almost always individual encounters, making it easy to pick them off one by one.

Once the site was secure, we returned to the blimp, which I was chastised by Danse for not using her real name, the Predwyn. Jess and I were both promoted to the rankings of Knight, in which I was very insistently warned could be revoked the moment I stepped out of line, so I kept my jokes about their use of medieval titles to myself. While Jess and Danse were quickly dismissed, I was left behind in the command deck with Maxson.

"I'm interested in where you came up with that tactical idea. It worked _well_ , and I'm more than a little suspicious when you say you don't have a military background." He said, staring out of the window.

Had I said that?

"I said I didn't have a _military_ background, not that I hadn't studied the Pre-War techniques. It wasn't exactly rocket science to put together what would've worked best in that situation," I replied.

"I'll overlook the sarcasm in that statement this time. In the future, try not to be so crass when speaking to a superior."

I almost gawked. He thought _I_ was rude?

"It may prove more beneficial to have you reassigned to support Captain Kells. He usually briefs teams before venturing out, and if there are more ideas like that of yours, you'll be required to share them." He continued.

 _Required._ I thought grimly. _Not, hey, it would be really nice if you could help out and share those ideas willingly. Required._

I chose my words more carefully this time as my tongue clicked inside my mouth. "With all due respect… I'd prefer to be boots on the ground, so to speak. I _do_ still need to recover my team safely, and searching for them along missions is the least complicated way to do that."

He turned, scrutinizing my face yet again with that antagonizing stare.

"I believe it's in your full capabilities to do both, is it not?" He asked.

"Yes," I replied, looking away. _It's easier to just not argue at this point._

He scratched his chin, deep in thought. "Good," he said simply. "Report to Captain Kells immediately. You can begin your work now. Dismissed, Knight."

I started walking away, unsure of where to even find Kells, before Maxson spoke again, clearly irritated. "Down the ramp, not the ladder, Knight."

* * *

Finding Kells wasn't difficult, considering the ramp only led directly below the command deck to a small room. It, too, overlooked the retched Commonwealth, and I was surprised to see the Captain working alongside his scribes at the terminal, rather than copying Maxson by staring out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Captain Kells, sir," I said uncomfortably, causing him to straighten up and turn towards me.

"At ease, Knight. I suppose you're here to begin working on military strategy. Unfortunately, my plate is a little too full at the moment, but I'd like you to begin by documenting _un-_ common techniques. I suggest you start with interesting angles, such as the ones reported during your mission to recover Fort Strong. You can use this terminal here." He pointed to a chair with a terminal across from where the scribes were huddled together.

"If I may, sir..." I said, unsure of myself.

"Proceed," he stated simply.

"I'm not used to just sitting down and thinking them out. It's easier to _see_ a situation unfolding and decide how to proceed, based on the parameters," I explained.

He tilted his head in thought. Instead of getting irritated, he surprised me by waving it off. "Very well, I'll see to it that Paladin Danse takes you out into the Commonwealth to familiarize yourself with situations that are presented. Document the location, parameters, technique and estimated success rate, but do not proceed with an attack. I'm interested in carrying them out with a separate party based on your written instructions and seeing how well the results correspond with your estimated success rate."

"Okay." I said. I looked around, unsure of what to do now.

"For now, you're dismissed. Report in at 0600 tomorrow for your next assignment with Paladin Danse."

"Yes sir," I said, cautiously wandering away before he could think of something else for me to do.

I paced around the Predwyn. For a faction that had a long list of items to do, I sure had nothing. I wanted desperately to eat something, and I knew I was going to need to get over the humiliation of seeing Rhys in the mess hall at some point, but I couldn't bring myself to it yet.

Instead, I explored the belly of the beast. I had an ulterior motive as I peeked through room after room, realizing rather grimly that there wasn't much in terms of personal privacy. I _did_ , however, learn that Elder Maxson and Paladin Danse had their own personal quarters, which made me a little miffed. I didn't mind being in close quarters with my pack, but sleeping next to a dozen other strangers was getting old pretty fast.

At the opposite end of the ship, however, was an old two-story maintenance room. A lot of old junk and dust had settled on the first floor of the small room, but it was otherwise empty. A small ladder with a hatch led to a second floor, where some machinery hummed away comfortingly.

 _Not a bad place for a room_. I thought as I slipped back down the ladder to the first floor. It was clear it was relatively unused considering the footprints I left in the dust on the floor. I was pretty positive Maxson wouldn't allow me to claim this as my own.

So I did anyways.

For the better part of the new few hours, I lugged a few boxes up to the second floor, neatly stacking them against one of the walls, and cleaned the grime and dust out of the cracks. I managed to convince two adolescent boys to carry a bed into here. Part of me felt bad about it when they complied so willingly. It reminded me of a puppet show, and Maxson was the puppeteer, training the children to follow orders without question from such a young age.

I collected a few other things to make the place feel more like home, eventually realizing it was well past midnight when I finally emerged from the room again. I wasn't thoroughly exhausted, all thanks to a body that runs on barely any sleep, and I realized I could finally get something to eat without Rhys being there to make fun of me for it.

Thanks to the decent amount of caps I'd collected at Fort Strong, I paid off my tab with the bartender and then convinced him to give me some mac n cheese at such an ungodly hour. But I was paying, so he begrudgingly slid it in front of me.

I ate quickly, partially horrified, partially uncaring. I was starving from not eating for so long, but I was also pretty disgusted that I was eating food that survived a nuclear war. When I was done, I got up and turned to walk down the hallway…and right into Maxson.

"Jesus fuck," I swore, stumbling back.

I didn't notice his arm grab mine to steady me until he spoke. "I had _hoped_ the general disrespectful and crass conversation pieces had been on an upward slope."

I dismissed his words, letting them go in one ear and out the other. I _did_ however, notice the electric warmth that passed through my arm where he was holding it.

"I'm sorry. But you can't walk around like that! All silent and shit. You'd have to expect someone to swear about it."

He narrowed his eyes, and his hand released my arm. "You really should be more careful in your choice of words, Ashford. Forgiveness only happens so many times."

"I don't really sense you're the forgiving type," I teased.

"You're correct," he said with a straight face, but the judgement at least seemed to have left his eyes. The same warmth I'd felt during our conversation my first night had returned to the air around us.

"So what does that put me at now, like 5 lives left?" I laughed.

I could've sworn he _almost_ smiled. "Something like that. You're using them up pretty quickly."

"I'm not too worried, I've still got about 55 lives left in my head."

He grimaced at my misunderstanding of the joke. "Cats only have _nine_ lives."

"Okay- but, hear me out-" his eyes looked entertained as I pleaded my case. "My body mass is the equivalent of like 7 cats probably, so I've got a good thing going here."

"Don't expect to have _that_ many chances to fix your attitude," he replied. I laughed, before realizing how weird it was to have such an informal conversation with him. For someone who was constantly berating me about things, he wasn't the worst.

But now that I'd thought about it, I got weirded out by it. Ensue awkwardness.

I looked at the wall uncomfortably. "Yeah, alright, I'm working on it. Wear a bell around your neck or something."

"What?" He looked at me quizzically, not understanding the reference.

"Oh it-" I blushed. _Dammit, I need to get a handle on that._ "It's just a reference. People used to put bells around a cows neck to know where they were."

"Uh-huh," was all he said, and I realized he was getting weirded out just as much as I was by the informal conversation.

He looked around me, his fingers fidgeting in one hand. "Get some rest, Knight. It's late," was all he huffed as he walked away.


End file.
